Hey North America, today is supposed to be National Film Day – didn’t you get the memo?
The domestic box office is looking to be so slow this Labor Day weekend that a re-release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” — a superhero movie that debuted in theaters nearly nine months ago — could make its way back to the top from the graph.
Although the third Tom Holland-led Spidey movie debuted in theaters in December 2021, Sony will release a “more fun version of Stuff” in 3,935 theaters over the weekend, hoping to lure loyal fans back to the big screen with its promise. By 11 minutes. From unseen footage.
No Way Home added $1.75 million to Friday’s tally, forecasting the four-day weekend to total $6.1 million. That’s just the cherry on top for the entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which ranked as the third highest-grossing domestic release of all time with a gross of $804 million heading into the weekend.
A victory roll in first place, though, is no guarantee of “Spider-Man”. With no new releases making a real impact at the box office, the five or six films likely to top the box office charts all anticipate weekend totals in the $1 or $2 million range from each other — plenty of wiggle room to change things up until Monday.
Even more upsetting is the prospect of National Film Day, which will see the majority of North American theaters selling $3 tickets on Saturday. 30,000 screens out of a total of 40,700 screens in the region are taking part in the event, which is organized by the Film Foundation, a not-for-profit branch of the National Association of Theater Owners. How this affects the performance of the box office remains to be seen, although it is easy to imagine that profits will be a little lower due to the large discount.
Theaters hope that National Film Day will swarm foot traffic and franchises business, while also stirring up excitement for their fall release slate. It’s the first North American event – discounted to cinema attendance at such a large scale, with organizers reportedly describing the initiative as a trial of what could become an annual event.
Other contenders for the low-millions prize include last weekend’s hero, horror movie The Call, which opened at number one with just $6.8 million. And the mainstay of the theater “Top Gun: Maverick” can easily pounce and win the prize.
The only new release this weekend is the religious satire “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul, starring Sterling Kay Brown and Regina Hall. Although it is showing in 1,879 theaters across the United States, the film premieres the same day on Peacock, which means it may be easier for viewers to enjoy the movie from their sofas.
More is coming…
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